Minimoa Sailplane - $7.50

It was made out of wood and fabric with cantilevered 'gull' wings. A B-version in 1938 had thinner wings with a modified section and the gull's kink in a different place. The undercarriage was non-retractable. It was the first glider built to carry water-ballast in a tank behind the pilot.

The Legendary
Minimoa 1930s Sailplane

The Minimoa model has a span of 38 inches!!
Look at how Bob's ailerons are working. We altered the
fuselage red color lines a little to keep the solid white
aft fuselage. Bob entered his Minimoa cardmodel in the
Orange County (Ca) 'International PLASTIC Model Society'
contest and guess what??

The Minimoa with its amazing silhouette, it’s
probably one of the most reproduced vintage gliders these days,
but it still remains a curiosity. It symbolizes the 30’s
of the German soaring. It was for many of us a technological
marvel which helped many pilots quit the slope flying and explore
the thermal or even the wave soaring. It was a big step from
experimental soaring to pure sport flying. Its shorter 17 meter span cut costs while its stronger structure allowed higher speeds.

The Minimoa was one of the first realization of the young company
Göppingen Segelflugzeug-bau born in 1935 when Wolf Hirth
and Martin Schempp teamed up. Renamed Schempp-Hirth Segelflugzeugbau
after the war, they are today one of the most famous and largest
glider manufacturer.

Schempp and Hirth needed to offer a high performance
sailplane of moderate price. The Moazagotl was very good but
twenty meters span was too large and costly for the expected
market. Seventeen meters seemed more reasonable..and the possibility
of offering the aircraft with alternative spans, 16, 17 and
18 meters, was considered.

With a cantilever wing there would be a worthwhile
savings in drag. For cloud flying the structure was stressed
for a load factor of 10 instead of the usual 8. The extra weight
of material required would be useful for faster flying on good
days. The main spar was required to curve in two planes where
the sweep back and the dihedral bend coincided but this presented
difficulties in construction, overcome with special jigging.

To
retain the stability and safe handling of the Moazagotl, the
new sailplane had the same general features, a swept back wing
with pronounced gull dihedral, large ailerons and strong washout,
mounted high on the fuselage. When seated, the pilot's head
was inside the wing, so outward vision was not good. A window
in the roof helped a little. Landings would be on a skid. Split
flaps were installed beneath the wing to aid landing in small
spaces.

Because of his artificial leg, Hirth (right) had the controls
set up with an overhanging control column working a torque tube
which passed over his right shoulder to bell cranks in the wing
root. The entire top front of the fuselage lifted off to allow
him to get in and out. This was not to continue with production
aircraft however.

This unusual prototype flew in 1935 and was taken to the Rhon
meeting. A smaller version of the Moazagotl, was named the Minimoa.
The first Minimoa accompanied Hirth when he visited Japan to
demonstrate and promote soaring later in 1935, and was sold
there. A second prototype was built, with a landing wheel and
normal controls. This too went to Japan later. One more of the
high winged version was built and sold to a Romanian pilot.

After
this there was some substantial redesign before production began.
The wing was mounted lower on the fuselage with a new, much
improved cockpit canopy giving the pilot a better view.

The
tail unit also was redesigned with a fixed tail plane instead
of the all moving elevator of the prototypes. Various sizes
and types of rudder were tried at different times.

The landing
flaps were replaced by spoilers and eventually, on later models,
air brakes.

This is a photo of the Fiddlersgreen version
of the Minimoa. The red band around the swatzstikka was
used on civilian aircraft in the 1930s and 40s.

Three views of Kancho's Minimoa beta build-Sept
'05. This has been over a year in the making

What people say...

Beautiful
glider - there is a reason VSA put it in the middle of their
logo. "Gull wing" vintage gliders are a big deal.
Beautiful and a bit more complex, they mark an especially
elegant era in soaring. Then the aerodynamicists proved that
there was no significant performance benefit from the gulled
section of the wing, and we've been flying straight winged
gliders ever since. Pity. Cam

I 'joined' a few months ago and have delighted
in not only making the models with my son but also reading
the background materials. I find myself looking forward to
Friday afternoon to see what the latest model will be. Don't
worry about going to a two-week schedule - these models are
worth the wait. Regards, Bruce Chochino, Toronto, Ontario.
Howzit,, Liking the gliders, d--n HUGE!! Niki

On my build, the wing tip spar box is not a
snug fit into the wing structures. If we do not glue the wing
tip spar; doesn't it just flop around inside the wing? Since
the wing tip attachment to the wing is already nicely established
by the wing envelope design, of what use is the tip spar?
Bob Penikas Bob, We tried to get the sparlet and the wing sheath to
fit tightly.. We glued it at first but it left an ugly glue
shrink-up on the wing.. I figure the wing will start to sag
someday and that bit of support will help..
The outer ones helped to keep the gull shape as well as strengthen
the outer wing.. Did you 'feel' the strength with your Minimoa? chip